Cris Cyborg’s UFC Release by Dana White Causes Twitter to Erupt

Cris Cyborg is out at UFC as president Dana White decided to release the star fighter from her contract. The reason for this has to do with Cyborg not wanting to fight Amanda Nunes who is the current UFC Women’s Featherweight champion.

Cyborg has been involved in MMA since 2005 and has only suffered two losses. The first loss came in her first match on May 17, 2005, when Erica Paes forced Cyborg to submit at Show Fight 2. The Brazilian-born athlete made her UFC debut on May 14, 2016, at UFC 198. Cyborg defeated Leslie Smith to win her 16th consecutive MMA match and that led to her winning the UFC Featherweight title at UFC 214 over a year later by defeating Tonya Evinger. She lost the title to Nunes back in December.

So how did the fans feel about this? Scroll down to find out.

The Statement

It’s clear White wanted to cut ties with Cyborg as soon as possible. In the statement, White said, “She is free and clear to go to Bellator or any of these other organizations and fight these easy fights that she wants,” White said. “Done. Done deal. I will literally today have my lawyer draft a letter to her team that she is free and clear to go where ever she wants. We’re out of the Cyborg business.” 

The good news for Cyborg is there will likely be a number of organizations after her. 

Move to Wrestling?

Is it possible Cyborg goes to the WWE or the AEW? Daniel Yanofsky said, Listen, everyone is talking about Cris Cyborg and #WWE when it comes to pro wrestling. Imagine if other companies were to try and pick her up… #AEW #NJPW” 

So maybe, Cyborg takes the Ronda Rousey route and she could become the next WWE or AEW Women’s Champion. 

Julia Budd is Happy

Julia Budd wants Cyborg to come to Bellator and fight her. MMA reporter James Lynch said, “Just spoke to [Bellator] women’s featherweight champion [Julia Budd] regarding the news of Cris Cyborg’s release (she had no idea). When asked potential matchup she responded with ‘Hell yes!’”

Cyborg vs. Budd would be quite the matchup and it will help the Bellator brand in a big way.

Let Them Fight

This fan has a request for White. Instead of releasing Cyborg, her and Amanda Nunes should fight one last time because that what the fans want. Well, according to White, he was trying to make that happen but Cyborg didn’t want to do it. And based on the first meeting between Cyborg and Nunes, White is convinced Nunes is the better fighter.

Not A Fan

It looks like this fan is not happy with the move. MMA Huddle said, “Another Dana spitting the dummy out after being called out on his bull.Then trying reverse psychology on Cyborg with the ‘Easier fights’ line. [Cyborg]
good luck in your new adventure hope you get the respect and treatment you deserve.”

Cyborg will be missed and it will be interesting to see what she does next. 

Treated Unfairly

This fan doesn’t like how White handled the situation. He said, “The #UFC has a rep for mistreating and backbiting great fighters that helped build the brand. But the greats [Cyborg] [Rampage Jackson] persevere and come out on top.”

Cyborg was one of the top women’s fighters in UFC and she did make the brand interesting. The way Cyborg has to look at it is the UFC’s loss will be another organization’s gain very soon. 

Possible Return?

Is there a chance Cyborg returns to UFC sooner than later? This fan said, “Very unfair what Dana White and the UFC just did with Cris Cyborg. I hope everything is a mistake and they haven’t fired her. Or in the worst case, that Dana reconsiders and does not get carried away by pride.”

Odds are White is going to stick with his decision and continue to promote fights with the top talent he has on the roster. However, it’s possible Cyborg could try to return once her contract is up with the next organization she joins.